I’m not sure if my parents ever knew this (they will now), but back when I was at White Plains Middle School, there was a convenience store across the street with a huge candy selection. My friends and I trooped down there regularly after school to load up on our favorites: Now and Laters, Sour Patch Kids, Jolly Ranchers, Gobstoppers, Nerds, Lemonheads, Boston Baked Beans and Cherry Clans.  Then we would bounce off the walls for several hours doing the stupid things that middle school boys do.

I would have had a field day in Larchmont’s brand new candy shop, Sweet Teez. Just opened in September, it’s co-owned by Larchmont residents Maria Garzona and Renata Donaghy, both of whom left their corporate jobs to take the plunge into the candy biz.

With Halloween right around the corner and everyone’s mind on candy, this seemed like the perfect time to stop by Sweet Teez for a look.

(I walked in the door to the intoxicating aroma of fresh waffle cones, which Renata was baking behind the counter. Whoooh, that is some great smelling stuff. Someone should bottle it.)

Hungry Travels: Where did the idea for Sweet Teez come from?
Maria: We actually for maybe 12 years had been talking about a lot of things; restaurants was for most of the years the topic of conversation. We always thought it would be a restaurant.  And over the years it took all different shapes.  We wanted to do something in our town, we wanted to do something on this end of town.

And then one day Renata called and said, “I got it. I think it’s gonna be candy.”  So we kind of did some research and there was a candy show coincidentally, a big one, in Chicago.  So we made reservations and flew to Chicago, spent the day, and came back and said, definitely candy.  So I actually left my job in May, and she left hers at the end of August.  If we were ever going to do it, one of us needed to take the lead.

What kinds of candies and other items do you sell?
You probably can separate it into four areas. One is bulk candy, the candy that you see in a lot of different candy stores: the Swedish Fish, the Lemonheads, the Jelly Bellies, all the stuff that we put in the bins. We have a machine to get the 21 colors of candy-coated chocolate.

The other piece is kind of categorized into gourmet or special, so that’s some unique chocolate products. We have a few dark chocolate bars, and then we do some from Belgium.  Then we do some other unique gourmet products from little companies, things that you can’t just get anywhere.

The third area is the ice cream.  So our ice cream is very special. It comes from a creamery in Milford, CT called Walnut Beach Creamery.  And it’s amazing. And then the fourth area of what we have are gifts.  So we have lotions, we have perfumes, we have t-shirts.  So we kind of divided the store up like that, and that’s what we’re always looking for.

It’s very boutique feeling, which is what we wanted.  It’s not all over the board, yet there are some unique things.  Every day or every week we try to introduce something new.

Is it important to you to support small and local businesses?
That’s the other thing we try to do — incorporate local people. Our lotions and stuff come from a store called Szents which is on the other side of town.  We sell a certain kind of bracelet, which is from Shenier Jewelry on the other side of town.  When we do parties, our cupcakes come from Stanz Café around the corner. So we really try to incorporate as many small businesses as we can, but also any local kinds of businesses.

You also sell signature wattle bottles that benefit a local charity?
We found a company in upstate NY that will pretty much create any bottle that you want in any label that you want.  So we wanted to choose a charity. We wanted the store to be associated with one specific organization, and we wanted the organization to be something that kids could get involved in.  We chose the Larchmont-Mamaroneck food pantry.  So the label on the water bottle has their logo as well as ours, and a portion of the proceeds goes to the food pantry.

Sweet Teez must be a huge hit with the kids.
We get a lot of kids.  And at first it was crazy and the kids were all overwhelmed.  So now we’re kind of like we have something for everybody. We have little bags made up that are $.50.  Little bags made up that are $.75.  Lollipops that are $.50.  So there’s something for everyone.  And the kids love to come in after school, and as the week goes on, more and more come, because it’s kind of the, if you do your homework, if you do whatever… So sometimes Fridays come and it’s crazy because they apparently did all the things they were supposed to.

What’s the most popular item among kids?
Wonka Bar.  Wonka stuff.  It’s chocolate with a layer of graham cracker, but from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. That’s where the golden ticket was.  But also though, sour stuff: Sour bottles, sour worms, sour belts, all the sours.  Those are probably the two things asked for the most.  And it’s funny, our ice cream, if you’ve had it once, you continue to come back for the ice cream.

Do you find that for adults, candy represents a nostalgic feeling, especially for certain types of candy?
Always. The black piece that’s on this far wall is all nostalgic.  And if you know of something that we don’t have, we try to get it.  That’s our favorite thing to do. Somebody just asked us for an item, well we never even heard of it, but we got it in. A guy came in and told us about plum Jelly Bellies.  Turned out they were the best flavor.  So we’ll get practically anything you ask for, if we can get it.

What are the store’s plans for Halloween?
We have a Jelly Belly costume that someone is wearing. So you get a little packet of Jelly Bellies. Renata and I are witches — really cute, big huge hats, that’ll be kind of fun.  And then we’re introducing another new thing which is our fudge.  We met a guy, all he does is make chocolate and chocolate walnut fudge. It’s amazing fudge.  So we’re going to cut that up and give that to adults. We’ll have a photographer so if people want to come dressed up and take pictures, it’ll be like a fun thing.  And then at night we’re going to have a party.

Is there any particular candy that’s big for Halloween?
We say this a lot. We’re not the place to come for the candy you’re going to give out at your front door.  Cause we just don’t carry that.  But from a Halloween perspective, believe it or not, what sells like hot cakes is Halloween cotton candy, in this little Halloween bucket. So we want to get a cotton candy machine.

Do you have any tips for parents on managing their kids’ Halloween candy consumption?
Here’s what we say about candy consumption in general.  And we tell kids all the time.  Candy’s a great fun, comforting thing to have.  But you have to have it in moderation.  So anything in moderation is not so bad.  Our big thing for Halloween is, go through your candy baskets, the stuff that you don’t want.  Bring it in here, or bring it your local school, whoever’s collecting candy, and give it to kids for whom candy is a very, very unique and special thing. Because there are a lot of kids where candy is really a treat.

Sweet Teez
157 Larchmont Ave.
Larchmont, NY
914-630-1744